Reports: Costco brings 'Made in America' to Mexican middle class

By Alaric DeArment

NEW YORK — "MIA" usually stands for "missing in action," but according to published reports, some consumers south of the U.S. border take it to stand for something that Americans may consider cause for celebration.

ABC News reported on its website that Issaquah, Wash.-based club chain Costco is becoming a popular shopping destination for Mexico's growing middle class, in part because of the number of what one interviewed customer called the "MIA" products (i.e., Made in America) that it carries, which customers perceive to be of higher quality than their Mexican-made counterparts.

These products include private-label baby wipes made by Orangeburg, N.Y.-based Nice-Pak Products and sold under Costco's Kirkland Signature brand. The article reported that the wipes are Costco's top-selling product in Mexico City despite Mexican-made wipes costing less.